Our focus this year has been to become familiar with using the interactive whiteboards and visualiser successfully in our classrooms and to increase use of existing digital resources.
Interactive Whiteboard
Daily photos have been put on the activeboard as motivation for writing. We often brainstorm ideas/perspectives for writing and develop a range of appropriate language to use.
The maths tools are great allowing students to be hands on and dice cricket and rocket are effective practice activities .
Being able to print what we have done allows our less able children to have a copy without struggling to make their own in a short timeframe.
The interactive board has been great for teacher modelling. Senior puils have watched a variety of You Tube videos - the latest being Hatupatu and the Bird Woman which was paused at various times so children could practice their retelling skills.
Jig Flip is a very useful tool for turning any photo or picture into a jigsaw puzzle. Believe it or not the children who you think might not be motivated are the most motivated.
Visualiser and LCD
The visualiser has been great for teacher modelling and teaching points such as proofreading and editing in our junior class. Children can be involved in small group discussion around their reading or written language when their work is displayed on the large LCD screen. Children writing captions for photos using a laptop can have their work monitored by another viewing the LCD. Children are modelling independent habits with this routine.
Brainstorming has also been taking place using photos on the LCD and the whiteboard above to record children's contributions for their reference..
Having a magnifier attached was great when Pukekos focus in inquiry was bugs!!! Chldren were able to get up close and personal with classroom specimens. A stimulus for oral language and observational skills.
Video
In the junior room the video camera has been used to record pupil performance in waiata. They then used this for reflection and appraisal of their own performances.
Digital Cameras
Improving skills and focus when using digital cameras was a learning focus for senior students in the middle of the year. All cameras were pooled so that there was a 1 to 5 ratio for use. Children were given a theme and sent initially in groups to capture 5 good images on the theme. Groups then reflected on outcomes and discussed things such as distance from subject, light, framing and focus of camera. One image was then chosen by each group to make a Top 5 collection. This process evolved to individuals choosing a theme and capturing and selecting their images in a given timeframe. All pupils developed confidence in using a digital camera. There was an improvement across the board with the quality of images being captured. Some pupils developed an eye for identifying unusual shots to take which made their images capture the attention of others. Senior pupils who attended an outdoor education camp returned and selected photos from the school intranet to develop into individual photo albums with captions. These were then emailed to their family for viewing. Pupils made use of internet search skills to identify online software they could use. They readily discarded those that had to be purchased and then found one that was easy to use. (www.myalbummaker.com )Children had pre selected the photos they wished to put in their album but once into the software found the images they could use were limited to 12. Going back and refining their selection was an interesting exercise for some where decisions had to be made based on quality of image versus content of image. Adding captions to the photos proved to be a very engaging activity.
School Planning
All unit plans contain a space for specific reference to ICT use within the course of the unit, for resourcing or for assessment purposes.
2011
Table of Contents
Our focus this year has been to become familiar with using the interactive whiteboards and visualiser successfully in our classrooms and to increase use of existing digital resources.
Interactive Whiteboard
Daily photos have been put on the activeboard as motivation for writing. We often brainstorm ideas/perspectives for writing and develop a range of appropriate language to use.The maths tools are great allowing students to be hands on and dice cricket and rocket are effective practice activities .
Being able to print what we have done allows our less able children to have a copy without struggling to make their own in a short timeframe.
The interactive board has been great for teacher modelling. Senior puils have watched a variety of You Tube videos - the latest being Hatupatu and the Bird Woman which was paused at various times so children could practice their retelling skills.
Jig Flip is a very useful tool for turning any photo or picture into a jigsaw puzzle. Believe it or not the children who you think might not be motivated are the most motivated.
Visualiser and LCD
The visualiser has been great for teacher modelling and teaching points such as proofreading and editing in our junior class. Children can be involved in small group discussion around their reading or written language when their work is displayed on the large LCD screen. Children writing captions for photos using a laptop can have their work monitored by another viewing the LCD. Children are modelling independent habits with this routine.Brainstorming has also been taking place using photos on the LCD and the whiteboard above to record children's contributions for their reference..
Having a magnifier attached was great when Pukekos focus in inquiry was bugs!!! Chldren were able to get up close and personal with classroom specimens. A stimulus for oral language and observational skills.
Video
In the junior room the video camera has been used to record pupil performance in waiata. They then used this for reflection and appraisal of their own performances.
Digital Cameras
Improving skills and focus when using digital cameras was a learning focus for senior students in the middle of the year. All cameras were pooled so that there was a 1 to 5 ratio for use. Children were given a theme and sent initially in groups to capture 5 good images on the theme. Groups then reflected on outcomes and discussed things such as distance from subject, light, framing and focus of camera. One image was then chosen by each group to make a Top 5 collection. This process evolved to individuals choosing a theme and capturing and selecting their images in a given timeframe. All pupils developed confidence in using a digital camera. There was an improvement across the board with the quality of images being captured. Some pupils developed an eye for identifying unusual shots to take which made their images capture the attention of others.Senior pupils who attended an outdoor education camp returned and selected photos from the school intranet to develop into individual photo albums with captions. These were then emailed to their family for viewing. Pupils made use of internet search skills to identify online software they could use. They readily discarded those that had to be purchased and then found one that was easy to use. (www.myalbummaker.com )Children had pre selected the photos they wished to put in their album but once into the software found the images they could use were limited to 12. Going back and refining their selection was an interesting exercise for some where decisions had to be made based on quality of image versus content of image. Adding captions to the photos proved to be a very engaging activity.
School Planning
All unit plans contain a space for specific reference to ICT use within the course of the unit, for resourcing or for assessment purposes.